BlackHole for MAC
Free virtual audio driver for Mac that passes sound from one app to another with zero added latency.
BlackHole Overview
BlackHole is a free virtual audio driver for Mac that passes sound from one app to another. It appears in macOS as an extra audio device: send any app's output to BlackHole and pick BlackHole as the input in another app, and the audio flows between them with no added latency. That makes it possible to record your Mac's sound, play music or a DAW into a video call, or route audio between music apps. BlackHole is made by Existential Audio, and its source code is released under the GPL-3.0 license.
BlackHole comes in 2, 16 and 64-channel versions, works with macOS 10.10 Yosemite and newer on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and needs no kernel extension or change to your Mac's security settings. The official installer is free; the download page asks for an optional donation.
Key Features
BlackHole has no window of its own: you set it up in Audio MIDI Setup and in your apps' audio settings.
- App-to-app audio: send the sound of one app into another as an input.
- Zero added latency: the driver adds no extra delay.
- Channel versions: 2, 16 and 64 channels, with 128 and 256 channels available when building it yourself.
- Sample rates: from 8 kHz up to 768 kHz.
- Record system audio: combine BlackHole with your speakers in a Multi-Output Device to hear and record at the same time.
- Works with any app: GarageBand, Logic Pro, Audacity, OBS, Zoom, Google Meet and more.
- No kernel extension: no changes to your Mac's security settings are needed.
What’s New in Version 0.7.1
BlackHole 0.7.1 is a small update to the installer and driver.
- Better permissions for the installer's preinstall and postinstall scripts
- The firmware version is now taken from the driver's version number
BlackHole FAQ
Is BlackHole free?
Yes. The official BlackHole installer is free to download; the download page asks for an optional donation. Its source code is released under the GPL-3.0 license.
What is BlackHole used for?
BlackHole passes audio from one app to another. Common uses are recording your Mac's sound, playing music or a DAW into a video call, and routing audio between music and streaming apps.
How do I record my Mac's system audio with BlackHole?
Open Audio MIDI Setup and create a Multi-Output Device that includes BlackHole and your speakers or headphones, then use it as your sound output. In your recording app, choose BlackHole as the input.
Why can't I hear anything after choosing BlackHole as my output?
BlackHole only passes sound to other apps; it does not play it through your speakers. To hear the audio too, use a Multi-Output Device that combines BlackHole with your speakers or headphones.
Which BlackHole version should I choose: 2, 16 or 64 channels?
BlackHole 2ch is enough for normal stereo audio, such as recording your Mac's sound or using it in a video call. The 16 and 64-channel versions are for routing many separate channels between music apps.
Which macOS version does BlackHole need?
BlackHole works with macOS 10.10 Yosemite and newer, on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
Does BlackHole add delay to the audio?
No. BlackHole adds zero additional latency to the audio passing through it.
How do I uninstall BlackHole?
Existential Audio offers an uninstaller for each version on its website. You can also delete the BlackHole driver from /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL and restart Core Audio, as described on BlackHole's GitHub page.
Is BlackHole safe to install?
Yes, when you get it from Existential Audio's website, which is where the download button on this page leads. BlackHole needs no kernel extension and no change to your Mac's security settings, and its source code is public on GitHub.
Where does the BlackHole download on blackhole.FULLMAC.app come from?
The download button leads to Existential Audio's official BlackHole page at https://existential.audio/blackhole/. blackhole.FULLMAC.app does not change or repackage the installer.
Similar Apps
LurarLurar is a menu bar equalizer for headphone listening. It takes the audio of every app on your Mac through Apple's Core Audio Process Tap, runs it through a 10-band parametric EQ tuned to your headphones, and plays the result on the output device or DAC you choose. Presets come from the AutoEq catalog, which you can browse and search by brand inside the app, and an editor lets you tune every band yourself with a live spectrum analyzer and a clip meter.Music & Audio
Home RecHome Rec is a free, open-source app that records the audio your Mac is playing. It uses Apple's ScreenCaptureKit, so there are no virtual audio drivers, kernel extensions or routing to set up: launch it, click record, and it captures everything your Mac plays, a single app or a microphone. Recordings are saved as lossless WAV by default, or as FLAC or M4A, with a live waveform in the main window and in the menu bar.Music & Audio
LyricGlowLyricGlow is a free, open-source Mac app that shows synchronized lyrics for the song playing in Spotify or Apple Music. Each word lights up as it is sung, karaoke-style, in a floating window that shows the previous, current and next line, and the current line also ticks by in the menu bar next to the clock, so you can follow the song with the window hidden. Every lyric line can show a live translation into any of 43 languages, including right-to-left scripts such as Persian, Arabic and Hebrew.Music & Audio
FaderFader is a menu bar app for the Mac that puts sound output and volume in one place. Switch between headphones, speakers, displays and AirPlay targets with one click, connect paired Bluetooth headphones from the same list, and give every app that plays sound its own volume slider and mute. You can drag a device onto the output list to play through two devices together, or drag devices onto an app to send just that app to them, while everything else stays on your main output.Music & Audio
ShazamScrobblerShazamScrobbler is for people who use Shazam on a Mac to identify songs playing around them and want to keep a listening history on Last.fm. It sits in the menu bar and watches for new tags. When Shazam tags a song, whether from vinyl, the radio or a film, ShazamScrobbler scrobbles it to your Last.fm account, and it also sends Last.fm a Now Playing request. The menu shows your tagged songs, a switch to turn scrobbling on and off with a count of songs waiting, your account, and an option to launch on startup.Music & Audio
Stargate DAWStargate DAW is a free, open-source digital audio workstation for making music on a Mac. It comes as one package with a pattern-based sequencer, its own instrument and effect plugins and a basic wave editor, so you can start a track without installing anything else. The project says its focus is on unique and innovative features, especially for EDM production.Music & Audio
FULLMAC.app does not host this app. Download buttons lead to the developer’s own pages.